Fran Rokicki Realty, LLC Blog: December 2008

How cool would that be?  We would be able to have first hand advice on our tax reporting and exempt benefits.  Do you know of a good accountant?  Tax Advisor?

How about contacting your clients and making sure that they have a professional to assist them with their taxes for 2008?  Prior to the new year may be too late, but, why not offer a name to them? Contact them in the next few days or the very first week of the new year.  The first time home buyers will really need professional help or at least, advice.  How about those folks that bought a vacation home?  There are some good deductions for those folks!

Investors?  Sure, most of them already know someone.  What about the ones that just started this venture of investment properties?  Search your files.  Contact each one of these clients to make sure that they have a good professional to consult with.  Even if they have someone, they will appreciate the call or email from you, just making sure that they are covered.

Tax rules will be changing for 2009.  You can count on it.  Claim what you can now and be sure that your clients do, too.  You only have a few days left!

Have a Prosperous & Healthy New Year!

Priced to go!  Take a look at this beauty!  located in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, it belongs to a small complex just off of Main Street.  Convenient to highway, shopping and schools.  This home offers a gracious foyer, first floor laundry room, updated kitchen with desk and eating area.  Sliders to deck from the living room.  The fireplace is floor to ceiling in the vaulted living room.  Two bedrooms upstairs, each have their own full bathroom.  Closets are huge, too!  There is a full basement that is unfinished and a one car attached garage. Low fees, gas heat and ready to go!  Are you a first time buyer?  Wow!  This is a good buy! 

Call Fran Rokicki Realty,LLC today to see this lovely condo. 860-646-3455  You know what my clients say ~ You'll Love Working With Fran!

Visit us on the web for more listings, photos and consumer information!

www.FranRokicki.IsAnExpert.com

How many times have we said this to buyers?  Not just in this market, either.  They need to feel confident that the price that they may be paying today, will be satisfactory for?  Here is my take on it.  If you are comfortable with the payment, the appraisal/condition report on the property and with the terms of your loan, why would you want to wait?  So many times I have seen that the one house that my buyers really fell in love with, was gone, by the time that they decided to take the leap of homeownership.

Get ready!  As a Stager friend of mine told one of my clients, be packing.  Don't just play that you are buying a new home, start packing your things.  Things that you don't use everyday.  Summer clothes.  Summer items that you have for your home and garden.  Kitchen items that you won't be using.  Pots and pans, bowls, china, etc.  It will make your cabinets look more spacious, too!  Why wait, be ready to go!  It just made so much sense when she said it, that the bunch of us, started to laugh.  Of course, it makes sense.  PACK!

If you are looking for that good bargain, be ready to act when you do find it.

If you are watching and waiting for a certain property to have a price reduction, just write an offer on it.  Why wait and have competition from other buyers?  Make your offer known to the sellers now.  They might just consider it, who knows?

Do you have to sell before you can buy your next home?  Get it on the market!  The new year is just around the corner.  Relocation families will be coming and soon!  They start looking in the beginning of the year.  Make your home available to them and become one of their choices.

Waiting to see, what if, is just silly. The sky is not falling!  The rates are great!  The local banks and credit unions are happy to write and hold your new mortgage.  Call them, stop in and ask them!

Buy it Now, If you Wait, The Good Buy May Be Gone!

Just a reminder, that for the remainder of this year, you can purchase equipment and one pair of boots per year, as a Realtor.  If you need a new computer, printer, fax or copy machine, now is the time to make your purchase.  The electronics are offering many good upgrades now and at deep discounted prices.  They always advise us to purchase vehicles during the last week of the month.  The dealers are anxious to make their numbers goal and will make sacrifices to their profits to get that additional sale.  Well, the same can be said for your office equipment.  So, don't wait til next year.  Buy it now and save twice.  Once, on your price and second, on your 2008 taxes. 

I have purchased my Christmas and holiday supplies for next year.  They are 50% discounted.  This was at the Christmas Tree Shops.  Got them all packed away.  Next year, I will be able to just take them out of the storage bins and send them out early. 

One thing that I did notice, though.  Last year, I went to Lowe's right after Christmas and the markdowns were great.  I picked up an artificial tree for a third of the price.  They had five of them.  All different sizes. This year there wasn't much to offer.  I wonder if it is because, this year the stores started marking items down sooner to stimulate people to buy?  The selection wasn't near as good.  Neither was the markdown for the product that they offered.

At SAM's Club, there are always good discounts.  You just have to be there in time to get the product because they only offer so many.  I have noticed that the wireless printers are half the price that they were three months ago.  That is tempting me:)  I have four days left to think about it!

Almost there!  What about gifts for your 2009 buyers? 

How about you?  Have you been out finding good buys for the ending of 2008?

Isn't is amazing that the price of gas that we are paying for today, is lower than it has been in the past five years?  I want the economy to come back, just as much as you do.  However, you just have to love the savings that we are able to take because of the falling price of oil and gas!  Yesterday, I paid $1.85 a gallon for heating oil.  Amazing!  Here is my oil company.  Backlund Enterprises, LLC.  He takes only cash, but, will deliver to your home up to nine o'clock at night.

How about you?  What are you paying?  Are you still looking for the cash discount?  Have you found out that by shoppiing at certain stores, you are given a larger discount on your automobile gas?  There are all kinds of good offers out there.  It helps your budget and if you share this information with your database, you will become more of a trusted advisor to them.  The more information about saving monies in this market that you can provide, the more likely they will be to continue to send business your way.  It becomes a reciprocal benefit.  Make a list of the savings that you have found in your local market and send this information to your clients.

Gas for your vehicles can be found for less, too!  Our local grocery stores, here in Connecticut, offer deep discounts with points gained on your courtesy cards.  Cash is big, also.  Regular here is now an average of $169.9 for regular and $1.99 for premium.